The Utah football coach’s name-check of the “Gilligan’s Island” character from the 1960s television series is partly a concession to his turning 60 on Thursday. It’s more of an illustration of how much he’s enjoying this season as the Utes keep winning.
The reference stemmed from a question about how Whittingham spends idle hours on game day, a chore compounded by the rare case of playing on a weekday when other college football games are not being televised. He cited his childhood love of “Gilligan’s Island,” and marveled how Thurston Howell III’s wife — played by Natalie Schafer, in her mid 60s when the show originally aired — once seemed “ancient” and now appears young to him.